Unique design is both futuristic and funky. Easy interior access. Compact chassis works for either desktop or home entertainment use. HDMI and DisplayPort with up to 4K output. Low price.

Cons

Operating system sold separately.

Bottom Line

The Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 Plus is an ultra-small desktop PC with an attractively small price, and a design that will turn heads.

The Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 Plus ($479.99) is the latest addition to Zotac's Zbox line of tiny project PCs, but this little desktop looks different from its square-shaped siblings. The Zbox Sphere replaces utilitarian corners with roundness and whimsy, but still manages to offer a compact system that's perfect for home entertainment or as an everyday desktop PC. The only caveat? Bring your own Windows operating system.

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Design and Features
The aptly-named Zbox Sphere is about the same size as a small cantaloupe, with a globe-like chassis that measures 6.1 inches across. The chassis is molded black plastic, with a smooth, matte finish, unadorned except for a blue, glowing ring that lights up when the PC is powered on. The Zotac logo is printed on the top of the spherical case. It's not a perfect globe, however, since it also has a cube-shaped base, with a flat bottom for stable footing, and a rear panel for ports. There's plenty of ventilation, with vents on the bottom and at the rear of the chassis.

Measuring 6.3 by 6.1 by 6.1 inches (HWD) and weighing only 1.73 pounds, the tiny Zbox Sphere is small enough to be in the same class as ultra-small-form-factor desktops like the Polywell i2304-i5 or the Editors' Choice Apple Mac mini (Late 2012). While these tiny PCs are usually built to be tucked out of sight, the Zbox Sphere is really meant to be a little more conspicuous. The design, which seems to emulate the Google Nexus Q, is sure to grab people's attention and start conversations.

The round front of the chassis comes off with a twistno tools necessaryto reveal the guts of the system. The black, ball-shaped case contains a small Zotac motherboard mounted horizontally inside the sphere. On top of the board is a 2.5-inch, 500GB, 5,400rpm hard drive, and next to that are 4GB of memory (with DIMM slots for up to 16GB). On the underside, you'll find a Intel Core i5-4200U and a surprisingly up-to-date 802.11ac dual-band Wi-Fi module (the system also has Bluetooth 4.0). Below that, in the base of the system, is a small cooling fan.

There are plenty of ports located on the back panel, next to the Power button: DisplayPort and HDMI outputs; a Gigabit Ethernet port; Line-In and Line-Out jacks for audio; an SD card slot; and six USB ports (four USB 3.0, two USB 2.0). The display outputs provide a nice bit of future-proofing, since both the HDMI and DisplayPort connectors support higher-than-HD output up to 4K. On the sides of the device you'll find a USB 2.0 port on the right and a Kensington case lock slot on the left.

There's no software to speak of on the 500GB hard drive; the Zbox Sphere doesn't even come with an operating system. The drive will support either Windows 8 or Windows 7which will cost an extra $90 to $150, unless you have a spare copy lying aroundwith no difficulty (though you'll need an external optical drive if you're installing the OS from a disc). For those looking for a more demanding project, it will also support Linux or any other OS you want to put on it, should you want to roll your own version of a Hackintosh Mac Mini, or a Chromebox by compiling your own Chromium OS build. Zotac covers the Zbox Sphere with a two-year warranty on parts and labor, but doesn't provide support for user-installed software.

Performance
Though tiny, the Zbox Sphere is designed to offer some decent performance, whether used as a desktop or as an entertainment hub in the living room. This is mostly thanks to the laptop-class 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U dual-core CPU, which offers good performance while also keeping relatively cool, an essential quality for use in a small chassis. In PCMark 8 Work Conventional, our general-use test, the Zbox Sphere scored 2,713 points, providing nearly identical performance to the Polywell i2304-i5 (2,733 points).

The Zbox Sphere took 5 minutes 48 seconds to complete our Photoshop test. That time also places it comfortably between the Core i7-powered Apple Mac mini (4:15) and the less impressive Intel NUC (Next Unit of Computing) Kit D54250WYK (9:11). The Polywell i2304-i5 couldn't run the test, due to software conflicts.

Because the system relies on Intel's integrated graphics, it lagged behind the Polywell desktop in our 3D graphics tests. The system scored 4,063 points in 3DMark CloudGate, our medium graphics test, and 236 points in 3DMark FireStrike Extreme, the more demanding test. Similarly, the Zbox Sphere fell behind the Polywell system in gaming tests, but neither one produced playable results in any case.

Conclusion
If you want a small PC for entertainment and home use, but prefer something a little more eye-catching than the typical black-box designs of so many ultra-small-form-factor desktops, the Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 Plus fits the bill. The round design is fun, and the small desktop offers decent capability for such a low price. Now, that price doesn't include a copy of Windows, which adds an extra $90 to $150, but even with that expense factored in, it's one of the more affordable small PCs on the market. While it doesn't replace the Editors' Choice Apple Mac mini, which has a more refined design and comes with a slick operating system and software, the inexpensive Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 Plus is still a great choice.

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About the Author

Brian Westover is an Analyst for the Hardware Team, reviewing laptops, desktops, and storage devices.
As a child, Brian was frequently asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" His answer alternated between Superman and Batman. This was cute when he was five, but worrisome at seventeen. Naturally, he is now a journalist, writing about tec... See Full Bio

Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 Plus

Zotac Zbox Sphere OI520 Plus

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